The ordinances embraced in the following chapters and sections
shall constitute and be designated the "Code of Ordinances of the
Township of West Pottsgrove, Pennsylvania," and may be so cited.
The catch lines of the several sections of this code printed
in boldface type are intended as mere catchwords to indicate the contents
of the section and shall not be deemed or taken to be titles of such
sections, nor as any part of the section, nor, unless expressly so
provided, shall they be so deemed when any of such sections, including
the catch lines, are amended or reenacted.
In the construction of this Code, and of all ordinances, the
following rules shall be observed, unless such construction would
be inconsistent with the manifest intent of the Board of Commissioners:
Generally. The provisions of this Code shall be liberally construed
to affect the purposes expressed there in or implied from the expression
thereof. In case of doubt or ambiguity in the meaning of such provisions,
the general shall yield to the particular. Reference for interpretation
and construction shall tend to further the accomplishment of the elimination
of the particular mischiefs for which the provisions were enacted.
Words shall be construed in their common and usual significance unless
the contrary is clearly indicated.
Whenever the words "Board of Commissioners" are used, they
shall be construed to mean the Board of Commissioners of the Township
of West Pottsgrove.
Any person elected or appointed to that office.
Whenever a notice is required to be given or an act to be
done, a certain length of time before any proceeding shall be had,
the day on which such notice is given, or such act is done, shall
be counted in computing the time, but the day on which such proceeding
is to be had shall not be counted.
Whenever the words "corporate limits," "corporation limits"
or "Township limits" are used, they shall mean the legal boundary
of the Township of West Pottsgrove.
Whenever the words "the corporation" or "this corporation"
are used, they shall be construed as if the words "of the Township
of West Pottsgrove, Pennsylvania" followed them.
The words "the county" or "this county" shall mean the County
of Montgomery in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
Whenever a provision appears requiring the head of a department
of the Township to do some act or make certain inspections, it is
to be construed to authorize the head of the department to designate,
delegate and authorize subordinates to perform the required act or
make the required inspection unless the terms of the provisions or
section designate otherwise.
A word importing the masculine gender only shall extend and
be applied to females and to firms, partnerships and corporations
as well as to males.
In the interpretation and application of any provision of
this Code, it shall be held to be the minimum requirements adopted
for the promotion of the public health, safety, comfort, convenience
and general welfare. Where any provision of the code imposes greater
restrictions upon the subject matter than the general provision imposed
by the Code, the provision imposing the greater restriction or regulation
shall be deemed to be controlling.
All words giving a joint authority to three or more persons
or officers shall be construed as giving such authority to a majority
of such persons or officers.
The word "keeper" or "proprietor" shall mean and include
persons, firms, associations, corporations, clubs and partnerships,
whether acting by themselves or through a servant, agent or employee.
A calendar month.
Whenever the name of an officer is given, it shall be construed
as though the words "of the Township of West Pottsgrove" where added.
Words and phrases shall be construed according to the common
and approved usage of the language; but technical words and phrases
and such others as may have acquired a peculiar and appropriate meaning
in law shall be construed and understood according to such meaning.
A word importing the singular number only may extend and
be applied to several persons and things as well as to one person
and thing.
Construed to include an affirmation in all cases in which,
by law, an affirmation may be substituted for an oath, and in such
cases, the words "swear" and "sworn" shall be equivalent to the words
"affirm" and "affirmed."
"Or" may be read "and," and "and" may be read "or" if the
sense requires it.
Applied to a building or land, shall include any part owner,
joint owner, tenant in common, tenant in partnership, joint tenant
or tenant by the entirety, of the whole or of a part of such building
or land.
Shall extend and be applied to associations, clubs, societies,
firms, partnerships and bodies politic and corporate as well as to
individuals.
Includes every species of property except real property,
as herein described.
The words "preceding" and "following" mean next before and
next after, respectively.
Whenever the word "premises" is used, it shall mean place
or places.
Includes real and personal property.
Includes any park, cemetery, school yard or open space adjacent
thereto, and all beaches, canals or other waterways.
Includes lands, tenements and hereditaments.
The place adopted by a person as his place of habitation,
and to which, whenever he is absent, he has the intention of returning.
When a person eats at one place and sleeps at another, the place where
such person sleeps shall be deemed his residence.
The Township or corporate seal.
Any portion of a street between the curbline and the adjacent
property line, intended for the use of pedestrians, excluding parkways.
The "signature" or "subscription" of a person shall include
a mark when the person cannot write.
The words "the state" shall be construed to mean the State
of Pennsylvania.
Streets, avenues, boulevards, roads, alleys, lanes, viaducts
and all other public highways in the Township.
The words "tenant" or "occupant," applied to a building or
land, shall include any person holding a written or oral lease or
who occupies the whole or a part of such buildings or lands, either
alone or with others.
Words used in the past or present tense include the future
as well as the past and present.
The words "the Township" or "this Township" shall mean the
Township of West Pottsgrove, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, a municipality
of the common wealth of Pennsylvania, acting by and through its Board
of Commissioners or, in appropriate cases, acting by and through its
authorized representatives.
Whenever the words "Township commissioners" are used, they
shall be construed to mean the Board of Commissioners of the Township
of West Pottsgrove.
Construed to mean seven days.
Include any representation of words, letters or figures,
whether by printing or otherwise.
A calendar year.
The ordinances contained in this Code of Ordinances are intended
to encompass and to promote the general health, welfare, peace, good
order and morals of the community at large and the said ordinances
have been codified herein for the purpose of facilitating the enforcement
thereof.
Any existing ordinance, if any, of the Township, which has not
been incorporated herein and made a part hereof, is not intended to
be abolished or in any way changed by the enactment of this Code,
except where said existing ordinances not incorporated herein and
made a part hereof, conflict with the provisions of this Code, in
which event the provisions of this Code shall supersede the provisions
of said existing ordinances.
A.
All
ordinances passed subsequent to this Code of Ordinances, which amend,
repeal or in any way affect this Code of Ordinances, may be numbered
in accordance with the numbering system of this code and printed for
inclusion therein, or in the case of repealed chapters, sections and
subsections or any part thereof, by subsequent ordinances, such repealed
portions may be excluded from the Code by omission from reprinted
pages affected thereby and the subsequent ordinances as numbered and
printed or omitted, in the case of repeal, shall be prima facie evidence
of such subsequent ordinances until such time as this Code of Ordinances
and subsequent ordinances numbered or omitted are readopted as a new
Code of Ordinances by the Board of Commissioners.
B.
Amendments
to any of the provisions of this Code should be made by amending such
provisions by specific reference to the section of this Code in language
substantially as follows: "That section _____ of the Code of Ordinances
of the Township of West Pottsgrove, Pennsylvania, is hereby amended
to read as follows:. . ." The new provisions may then be set out in
full as desired.
C.
In
the event a new section not heretofore existing in the code is to
be added, the following language may be used: "That the Code of Ordinances
of the Township of West Pottsgrove, Pennsylvania, is hereby amended
by adding a section (or article, chapter or other designation, as
the case may be), to be number _____, which reads as follows:. . ."
The new provisions may then be set out in full as desired.
D.
In
lieu of the foregoing subsection, when the Board of Commissioners
desires to enact an ordinance of a general and permanent nature embracing
a subject not previously existing in the Code, which the Board of
Commissioners desires to incorporate in to the Code, a provision in
substantially the following language may be made a part of the ordinance:
"It is the intention of the Board of Commissioners, and it is hereby
ordained that the provisions of this chapter shall become and be made
part of the Code of Ordinances of the Township of West Pottsgrove,
Pennsylvania, and the sections of this chapter may be renumbered to
accomplish such intention."
E.
All
sections, articles, chapters or other provisions of this Code desired
to be repealed should be specifically repealed by section number,
article number chapter or other number, as the case may be.
A.
The
repeal of an ordinance shall not revive any ordinances in force before
or at the time the ordinance repealed took effect.
B.
The
repeal of any ordinance or any portion thereof by this enactment or
by any future enactments hereunder shall not affect or impair any
act done or right vested or accrued for any proceeding, suit or prosecution
had or commenced in any cause before such repeal shall take effect;
but every such act done or right vested or accrued, or proceeding,
suit or prosecution had or commenced shall remain in full force and
effect as if such ordinance or part thereof so repealed had remained
in force. No offense committed and no liability, penalty, or forfeiture
either civilly or criminally incurred prior to the time when any such
ordinance or part thereof shall be repealed or altered shall be discharged
or affected by such repeal or alteration, but prosecutions and suits
for such offenses, liabilities, penalties or forfeitures shall be
instituted and proceeded with in all respects as if such prior ordinances
and part thereof had not been repealed or altered.
It shall be unlawful for any person in the Township to change or amend by additions or deletions, any part or portion of this Code, or to insert or delete pages, or portions thereof, or to alter or tamper with such Code in any manner whatsoever which will cause the law of the Township of West Pottsgrove to be misrepresented thereby. Any person violating this section shall be punished as provided in Section 1-9 hereof.
[Ord. No. 78-3, 6-7-1978; Ord. No. 88-5, § 1,
§ 2, § 7-6-1988]
Wherever in this Code or in any ordinance of the Township any
act is prohibited or is made or declared to be unlawful or an offense
or a summary offense, or wherever in such Code or ordinances the doing
of any act is required or the failure to do any act is declared to
be unlawful, and no specific penalty is provided therefore, the violation
of any such provision of this Code or any such ordinance shall be
punished as follows:
A.
Any violations of Chapter 7, all articles, divisions, and sections; Chapter 8, all articles, divisions, and sections; Chapter 10, Article I and Article II; and Chapter 11, all articles, divisions and sections shall be punished by a fine of not more than $1,000 or, in default of payment of such fine, by imprisonment for not more than 30 days.
B.
Any
violations of other chapters, articles, division or sections of this
Code or any other ordinance shall be punished by a fine of not more
than $600, or in default of payment of such fine, by imprisonment
for not more than 30 days.
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Each day that any violation of this Code or of any ordinance
continues shall constitute a separate offense.
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In all cases where the same offense may be made punishable,
or shall be created by different clauses or sections of the ordinances
of the Township, the prosecuting officer may elect under which to
proceed; but not more than one recovery shall be had against the same
person for the same offense.
Fines and penalties shall be collected as fines and penalties
are now collected in Townships of the first class in Pennsylvania.
The sections, subsections, paragraphs, sentences, clauses and
phrases of this Code are severable, and if any phrase, clause, sentence,
paragraph, subsection or section of this code shall be declared unconstitutional
by the valid judgment or decree of a court of competent jurisdiction,
such unconstitutionality shall not affect any of the remaining phrases,
clauses, sentences, paragraphs, subsections and sections of this Code.
